The Institute of Canadian Archives is gearing up for its feature event of the year, which will showcase a number of speakers who will host open discussions on a range of topics. With over 30 diverse faith and non-faith based leaders, the event looks to send a strong message against xenophobia, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

The “Hearts & Minds Living Library: Compassion Catalogue” is slated to take place at Toronto’s City Hall. Multiple presentations will take place simultaneously, giving participants the ability to navigate the floor depending on their interests.

Award winning journalist and broadcaster, Naheed Mustafa will serve as the event’s Master of Ceremony. As an accomplished written contributor who has spent time in Pakistan, Sudan and Afghanistan, she offers a unique perspective on the day’s subject matter.

Five programs have been scheduled: The Living Library Sessions, Fireside Reading, Compassion Panel and a two-part Comedy Panel.

The event touches on a concept described as “the living book”. Attendants are able to check out actual individuals who they are interested in learning more about. Through the Living Library Sessions, a cast of about fifteen different people are available for booking. Positioned at several stations, participants are able to have one-on-one discussions to draw on their experiences and outlooks.

During the Fireside Reading, five “Best Sellers”, who cannot be individually booked, will speak to larger audiences. Named for their exclusivity, they are only available for a limited amount of time through group settings. The list includes Zaib Shaikh, Muhammad Fakih, Catherine Wallace, Nathalie Des Rosiers, and Dr. Ken Derry.

Hosted by Mustafa, the Compassion Panel will look to have an open discussion regarding tolerance and understanding. Titled, “Compassion in the 21st Century: Where Does Canada Stand?”, the panel will analyse how the country is responding to the increasing diversity of its population. Touching on various cultures, faiths and beliefs; listeners will have a chance to hear accounts from topical experts. Organizers hope that this will help move our communities towards increased inclusivity.

As readers hear different stories they are invited to take on new viewpoints by diving into narratives that differ from their own. The speakers look to show how Canadians can co-exist despite an array of ideals and past experiences. This is best put by one of the “Best Sellers”, Dr. Ken Derry, who defines compassion as a step further than empathy by keeping in mind that we are not always able to fully understand another’s experiences.

“And yet it is critical that we sympathize with the suffering involved, even while recognizing that we don’t ‘really’ understand….” Derry goes on, “In this respect, compassion is about asking (not telling) someone what they need.”

The day will close with Comedy panels that will showcase Anto Chan and the hosts of the So Help Me Pod, Courtney Gilmour and Dan Curtis Thompson. The acts will look to provide a humourous twist on a lot of the subject matter that was previously touched on. Maintaining that despite differences in beliefs, people can always share a laugh in good spirits.

The Institute of Canadian Archives is a non-profit based out of Toronto that aims to bring people together through storytelling. As the country’s social constructs continue to expand, the organization creates learning tools to better understand other’s views. In this regard, they hope to break down stereotypes and prejudices to build a more compassionate community for all Canadians.

The “Hearts & Mind Living Library” will start at 10 AM on September 9, with opening remarks from Executive Director, Azfar Rizvi. The full schedule can be found online, along with a floorplan of the proceedings.

Ontario’s Black Youth Action Plan is taking another step forward with a new mentorship initiative. As part of its four-year $47 million-dollar project, the province will launch, “Together We Can”. The aim is to reach 10,800 black youth within priority communities outlined in regions such as the GTA, Hamilton, Ottawa and Windsor.

The province will look to tackle statistical discrepancies among young people of colour within major cities. For young Blacks, the numbers can be startling, with unemployment and dropout rates that almost double those of their Caucasian counterparts. Compounded with the fact that a black population that only accounts for about 8% of the province, makes up 41% of those receiving care at the Children’s Aid Society, there is a clear need for change.

The program has already started recruiting local organizations through a number of engagement sessions that have taken place across 13 communities. The sessions will continue throughout the summer in the hopes of collaborating with up to 25 different mentorships. As of now, four organizations have already signed up: The African-Canadian Coalition of Community Organizations, the NIA Centre for the Arts, Tropicana Community Services, and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel Community.

“Diversity is such a beautiful thing. It makes us stronger, economically and culturally.”-Michael Coteau

MPP Michael Coteau, has been a driving force behind the project. Raised in the very community he serves today, he has helped spread awareness on several of the issues he had to overcome. Growing up in Flemingdon Park, he was exposed to many of the systemic hardships that make it increasingly difficult for so many to further their educations. He credits a lot of his success to the positive influences he started seeing in the second half of his high school career and hopes to recreate a similar atmosphere for others.

Elected to office in 2011 as MPP of Toronto’s Don Valley East ward, he is also the Minister Responsible for Anti-Racism and Minister of Children and Youth Services. He sees the initiative as an “on-the-ground” solution that will help underprivileged minors with their futures.

“Partnering with local community organizations to provide mentorship opportunities specifically for Black children and youth will help them build the skills and connect them with the opportunities they need to succeed,” Coteau explains.

The project will try to keep locals involved and is in the process of putting together a committee made up of leaders, experts and other members of the black community to help with the overall direction.

Ontario’s Youth Action Plan outlines a number of steps that must be taken into consideration in order to adequately provide the support they require. Earlier intervention was identified as one of those first steps and in response, the province has already implemented optional full day kindergarten. Employment programs will also be expanded so that they are available on a full-time basis in the summer, as well as part-time throughout the year.

The plan will also employ more outreach workers across the province. In addition, training procedures will be reviewed to ensure that employees are adequately equipped.

With a firm plan of action in place, community leaders are optimistic of the positive change that will follow. Dwayne Dixon is the Executive Director at the Nia Centre for the Arts and is more than aware of the uphill battle they are facing.

“Very early in my artistic journey, when I was coming up, there were very limited opportunities (financial or otherwise) for young black artists to make the arts a viable career choice...I'm confident, experiences like mine will be the exception and not the rule,” he says.

As more organizations continue to join the cause, it is clear that major changes are under way. It will be interesting to see what a future of equal opportunity will hold for Canada’s most multicultural province.

Curtis Carmichael has set out to do what many could only dream of. Following in the footsteps of Canadian legends like Terry Fox, the young Toronto native will travel across the country to fund-raise. Riding his bicycle across 30 legs, the 3,300 km he will cover from Vancouver to Halifax is a tall task by any measure.

Knowing he needed to create a platform, he looked for a unique way to spark a nationwide conversation. After careful deliberation with a local non-profit, Urban Promise, they decided on a 5-week tour that would see him stopping in 50 different cities.

Carmichael himself grew up in Toronto Community Housing and has been a resident for over 20 years. It didn’t take long for him to notice some of the unique disadvantages that stemmed from stereotypes and associated stigmas.

“You are treated differently your whole life by teachers, police, employers, etc. You are told you are not as capable of being as successful as others who are not a minority or from a government housing area,” he says. “You watch the news and only see that government housing communities are viewed as dangerous, unsafe, and full of ‘Thugs’ and ‘bad people’.”

Media coverage that focuses more heavily on the negative aspects of the area, often overlooks many of the vibrant community building initiatives that take place. And with a resident majority that does not fall within the scope that is so widely portrayed, the resulting prejudices create additional hurdles that can be difficult to overcome.

“There is gun violence and drugs in some of these kinds of areas but there is much more to these communities than what is seen on the news,” Carmichael explains. “ [But] often not in the news is the joy and life that exists within people in these areas, the great successes of individuals and the strength in vibrant faith communities.”

Urban Promise Toronto creates a support structure similar to an extended family for youth between the ages of 5-25. The Christian organization holds after-school programs, summer camps, life groups and other engaging activities. They help many children from single parent and immigrant households who may not always have access to the same resources as other Canadians.

Youth are developed into leaders and encouraged to give back to their communities. Urban Promise is proud to say that a number of today’s counselors began as program participants within their adolescence. These individuals have grown to accept mentorship roles that allow them to impart their experiences on younger generations.

“The only way to help the limiting perspectives some individuals in these areas will have is working alongside them through relational investment.”

The product of Guyanese immigrants, Carmichael, has been a member since he was 8. From a young age, he developed a personal relationship with Camp Counselor, Julius Naredo, who he says was a “father-like figure” that helped mold him into the man he is today.

“The major thing Urban Promise did for me was give me an opportunity to develop as a leader and give back to my community,” he points out.

For Carmichael, the list of awards and accomplishments only continues to grow. The former high school valedictorian is now a Queen’s University graduate and Russ Jackson Award recipient. He is currently working as a classroom assistant and is on his way to a teaching diploma. Humble as always, he attributes a lot of his own success to the impact Urban Promise has had on his life. He hopes that others will see him as an example of the potential so many children possess.

The “Ride for Promise” campaign aims to spread awareness on the positive initiatives that are being put in place for youth in marginalized communities. He is looking to inspire change by challenging many of the biases associated with government housing. An initial goal has been set at $150,000 and donations will be accepted on the Urban Promise site.

“I look forward to seeing more from the writer and what he does in the future.”

Those were just a few of the sentiments heard from audience members leaving the showing of Secrets of a Black Boy at the Maja Prentice Theatre in Mississauga, ON Tuesday night.

Six years after its initial debut, Darren Anthony’s hard-hitting comedic drama was still met by positive feedback from the crowd that gathered to watch the first show of a tour that will eventually move on to major American cities like Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

The play touches on a number of controversial themes that exist within the black community, but are rarely discussed within the public sphere. No topic is off limits as the drama portrays the everyday struggles of what it is like to be a black man within society today.

“We don’t really discuss the hard-hitting issues, issues like suicide, transgender, sexuality,” explains Anthony. “… I wanted to be a voice for the voiceless, [for] my peers, as well as the youth that I work with.”

“I find as a black man, we’ve conditioned ourselves to be strong as nails, not have any emotions or talk about our issues and those qualities are very problematic.” - Darren Anthony

The plot follows five black men as they reveal intimate accounts of events that have taken place within their lives over one last game of dominoes at their local recreational centre – right before it is scheduled to be torn down. Each of the characters represents a man at a different point in his life, who is going through problems that he has never been able to share with his peers.

Anthony says that this fear of opening up to one another served as a huge motivator behind his desire to be the one to start a dialogue on a lot of the issues covered.

“I find as a black man, we’ve conditioned ourselves to be strong as nails, not have any emotions or talk about our issues and those qualities are very problematic,” he says, adding, “I want to make sure that men seeing this realize that they can articulate their feelings and they can be vulnerable.”

Breaking Out of Society’s 'Sanctions'

The play gives viewers an in-depth look into the mind of a black man through a series of soliloquies, in which characters are able to share their innermost feelings. The pent-up emotion explodes from within the actors on stage as they reveal a side of them that is rarely, if ever, seen.

This was something that clearly resonated with several audience members including Lavelle Adams Grey, a post-secondary student who made the trip from Brampton to see the production.

“[The aspect that] I could relate to most, [would have to have been] trying to adapt to what society makes out of us as being a black man.” - Lavelle Adams Grey

“[The aspect that] I could relate to most, [would have to have been] trying to adapt to what society makes out of us as being a black man,” says Grey. “Trying to come up on your own and society putting sanctions on what you can do and trying to break out of that.”

The tension built up during the play’s dramatic scenes eventually eased through comedic interludes that provided a laugh without straying too far from the topics at hand. Edgy one-liners like, “If there wasn’t a black man around, a cop wouldn’t have a job,” kept the mood light during some very pressing discussions.

First-time viewer, Jeleesa Walker, commended the actors and Darren on this, stating, “They connected with the audience and not every movie or play that you see connects with the audience like that. They incorporate the crowd so that keeps your attention and keeps you happy.”

More Storytellers Needed

While Anthony indicates he had several motivators, he credits his older sister, Trey Anthony, as one of his biggest inspirations.

Trey, also a successful playwright, is most notably known as the mastermind behind the award-winning, da Kink in My Hair, which focuses on the difficulties black women must face and has since been remade into a television series. She was the one who initially challenged her brother to write about a lot of these issues from a black male’s perspective – something rarely seen within media outlets. Anthony’s continued appreciation for his sister’s support was put on full display during an emotional embrace following the conclusion of the play.

“I find that when it comes to urban stories, there’s a lot of people who are telling our stories, but they don’t come off as being authentic.” - Darren Anthony

Moving forward, Anthony says that in order for more realistic portrayals of black men to become prevalent within the media, more individuals from within these communities must step up as storytellers.

“I find that when it comes to urban stories, there’s a lot of people who are telling our stories, but they don’t come off as being authentic,” Anthony says. “And I wanted to make sure that I was that individual, being in social work and being a storyteller for so many years, I have some credibility and I know what I am talking about, I’m on the front lines.”

Stage Photo By: Sam Minassie

This content was developed exclusively for New Canadian Media and can be re-published with appropriate attribution. For syndication rights, please write to publisher@newcanadianmedia.ca

Earlier this week, the CJFE put out its Review of Free Expression in Canada report, which features articles, statistics and analyses from experts in law, journalism, advocacy and academia in order to inform on and evaluate government and institutions for their impact on freedom of expression.

James L. Turk who is a distinguished visiting professor at Ryerson University explained that the issue of government transparency is a matter of protecting our democratic system and that silence only gives officials more power.

“Democracy is dependent on an informed public, but an informed public is potentially detrimental to a government,” he said.

“There is almost an obligation now to give time for a response, which deters journalists from reaching out to political offices. Government communication should now be called government marketing.” - Jennifer Ditchburn, Canadian Press

At the conference, the Information Commissioner of Canada, Suzanne Legault, joined prominent members of the media and other advocates of increased information accessibility for an open discussion regarding their personal experiences with, as well as expert opinions on, the subject.

The list of panellists included Munir Sheikh, former statistician of Canada and current executive fellow at the University of Calgary, Rob Cribb, an investigative journalist for the Toronto Star, Jennifer Ditchburn, senior parliamentary correspondent for the Canadian Press, Laura Tribe, national and digital programs lead for the CJFE, executive director of CJFE, Tom Henheffer and many more.

Introductions highlighting the many achievements of the speakers were followed by individual testimonies detailing how the lack of legal support has allowed the government to hide many of its budgetary spending from the public and has also resulted in a decline in investigative journalism.

The increase in the government’s unwillingness to produce documents has also promptly led to a general mistrust between members of the media and government officials.

“There is almost an obligation now to give time for a response, which deters journalists from reaching out to political offices,” explained Ditchburn. “Government communication should now be called government marketing.”

“You need a public that cares and rises up. Everyone who knows has a responsibility[to raise awareness]. Governments need to know that people care about the issue.” - Laura Tribe, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression

She continued on saying that the government now has its own team of media correspondents that is given more access to political figures.

Raising Awareness

“Why is this a non-issue? I am tired of having these discussions and then going home with no change. As we sit here having this discussion, that person right outside,” said Cribb, pointing at a man walking by the window, “has no idea of what is going on.”

“You need a public that cares and rises up. Everyone who knows has a responsibility[to raise awareness]. Governments need to know that people care about the issue,” added Tribe.

Turk stated that this kind of denial of information access inhibits the job performance of reporters, making a comparison to construction workers. “These are fundamental tools needed for journalism. What if I took the shovels from the workers outside and told them to dig?”

Legal Issues

“This is a total information shut down . . .” said Henheffer. “The government wants to shut down access to information. The problem is weak laws that allow a government to do whatever they want in terms of accessing information.”

Although all of the panellists reiterated that public awareness was the key to increasing the dissemination of information, everyone was shocked when Tribe revealed that of the 102 country that qualified for the 2010 survey of freedom of information laws, Canada ranked just 58th.

This ranking put Canada behind many developing states such as Sierra Leone, Mexico, Azerbaijan, and even Ethiopia, which has been notorious for jailing journalists.

“The federal government states that they are the most transparent in history because they have responded to the most [access to information] requests . . . people need to continue to speak out, if people give up [the fight] there will [only] be [further] erosion . . .” - Suzanne Legault, Information Commissioner of Canada

At another point in the discussion, Brown revealed that while investigating for an article, the threat of a libel case is extremely effective in dissuading the news outlet from publishing a story due to court costs.

As an example he described a situation that he went through with an article he had written on Jian Ghomeshi, who has now been charged with several counts of sexual assault. Although everything that Brown had wrote in the article was factual, the Toronto Star refused to publish the story after being threatened, until Ghomeshi himself made the information public through a Facebook post four months later.

Steps Moving Forward

Peter Jacobsen, a media lawyer, explained that journalists must be trained on how to approach sources that wish to remain anonymous because complete confidentiality can never be promised. He went on to say that if called to testify during a libel case, upon refusal to reveal a source’s identity, a journalist could be charged with contempt of court.

Jacobsen stated that the only way to combat these civil suits, until laws are changed, is for the media to band together so that court costs are kept to a minimal. Henheffer added that forming a media coalition for this exact purpose would definitely be a priority for the CJFE in the future.

The Information Commissioner of Canada, Legault concluded by stating: “The federal government states that they are the most transparent in history because they have responded to the most [access to information] requests . . . people need to continue to speak out, if people give up [the fight] there will [only] be [further] erosion . . . talking to your MP will help. Send e-mails, tweets. Go in person (to your local MP’s office).”

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